Research by the Department of Health in England with focus groups found heavy drinkers often fell into one of a number of categories.
…NameCharacteristics
Key motivations

Depressed drinkerLife in a state of crisis eg recently bereaved, divorced or in financial crisis
Alcohol is a comforter and a form of self-medication used to help them cope

De-stress drinkerPressurised job or stressful home life leads to feelings of being out of control and burdened with responsibility
Alcohol is used to relax, unwind and calm down and to gain a sense of control when switching between work and personal life. Partners often support or reinforce behaviour by preparing drinks for them

Re-bonding drinkerRelevant to those with a very busy social calendar
Alcohol is the ‘shared connector' that unifies and gets them on the same level. They often forget the time and the amount they are consuming

Conformist drinkerTraditional guys who believe that going to the pub every night is ‘what men do'
Justify it as ‘me time'. The pub is their second home and they feel a strong sense of belonging and acceptance within this environment

Community drinkerDrink in fairly large social friendship groups
The sense of community forged through the pub-group. Drinking provides a sense of safety and security and gives their lives meaning. It also acts a social network

Boredom drinkerTypically single mums or recent divorcees with restricted social life
Drinking is company, making up for an absence of people. Drinking marks the end of the day, perhaps following the completion of chores

Macho drinkerOften feeling under-valued, disempowered and frustrated in important areas of their life
Have actively cultivated a strong ‘alpha male' that revolves around their drinking ‘prowess'. Drinking is driven by a constant need to assert their masculinity and status to themselves and others

Hedonistic drinkerSingle, divorced and/or with grown up children
Drinking excessively is a way of visibly expressing their independence, freedom and ‘youthfulness' to themselves. Alcohol used to release inhibitions

Border dependentsMen who effectively live in the pub which, for them, is very much a home from home
A combination of motives, including boredom, the need to conform, and a general sense of malaise in their lives

The government says men should drink no more than three to four units per day and women no more than two to three.

Liver specialist Dr Nick Sheron, of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, says these limits were devised by civil servants with "no good evidence" for doing so.

He says the advice runs the risk of people taking it to mean that it is safe to drink alcohol every day.

Dr Sheron's comments follow a report by MPs on the Public Accounts Committee which suggested public confusion about safe drinking levels was fuelling problem drinking.

Dr Sheron says we should go back to using the old weekly limits, which are based on sound research.

The 1987 sensible drinking limits, which set the bar at 21 units per week for men and 14 units per week for women, remained in place until 1995.

Sensible drinking

It was then that the government decided to switch the limits from weekly to daily in a bid to curb binge drinking and emphasise the harms of saving up a week's limit to blow in one or two sessions at the weekend - a decision it stands by today.

But Dr Sheron says this was a mistake: "They were turned into daily limits by a community of civil servants and the reasoning behind it is shrouded in mystery and is not largely supported by experts.

"The weekly limits were based on robust studies and were set at a level at which alcohol harms outweigh any putative benefit."

Some studies show that alcohol, in moderation, can reduce the risk of heart disease.

In terms of damage to the liver, the risk begins when regular weekly consumption exceeds about 30 units, said Dr Sheron.

But for other conditions, like cancer, the risk starts at zero and goes up proportionately with the amount of alcohol is consumed.

Daily danger

Although the daily recommendations originally included the important caution to have some alcohol-free days, Dr Sheron this message has got lost.

The advice now warns against regularly drinking over the daily limit and says drinkers should also "take a break for 48 hours after a heavy session to let your body recover."

Dr Sheron said that by setting a daily limit, people might take this to mean they could drink every day.

Dr Rachel Seabrook, research manager at the Institute of Alcohol Studies, agrees.

"The Royal Colleges' recommendation for two days of abstinence a week has quietly disappeared. It was probably dropped to keep the message simple. But that is not a good move.

"And we are quite concerned about the use of 'daily' in the message. It implies that you can drink on every day.

"There should be an explicit warning against this."

Clear advice

A Department of Health spokesman defended the current recommendations saying: "Advice on limits is based on scientific evidence from studies in populations in this country and worldwide about long-term health harms for broadly average, healthy adults.

"The scientific evidence base was examined by an inter-departmental working group in 1995. This has been kept under review since then.

"There are a number of public health campaigns to help people understand government guidelines around drinking alcohol.

"Ongoing and future campaigns will also help people to live more healthily."

In Britain in 2007, 69% of people reported that they had heard of the government guidelines on alcohol consumption. Of these people, 40% said that they did not know what the recommendations were.

Although binges are dangerous and can cause harm - largely through accidents caused by reckless behaviour - in terms of long-term health risks, it is the average amounts consumed over the weeks, months and years that count.

A person who regularly drinks 50g of alcohol a day - around 6 units or three pints of normal strength beer - has nearly double the risk of stroke, high blood pressure and pancreatitis as someone who abstains.

In a snapshot survey for England in 2006, 12% of men and 7% of women reported drinking alcohol every day during the previous week.

In the same year, 23% of men and 15% of women reported binge drinking.

So, according to this particular UK Government namby-pamby we-know-better-than-you-how-you-should-live-your-life body, one can drink 10 times as much Cockburn SR than most other ports before breaking through their mythical barrier of daily intake? If only Fonseca 1966 had the same rating we could all be happy

So, according to this particular UK Government namby-pamby we-know-better-than-you-how-you-should-live-your-life body, one can drink 10 times as much Cockburn SR than most other ports before breaking through their mythical barrier of daily intake?

So, according to this particular UK Government namby-pamby we-know-better-than-you-how-you-should-live-your-life body, one can drink 10 times as much Cockburn SR than most other ports before breaking through their mythical barrier of daily intake?

And what sort of life would that be?

That's my point. Their stats prove that the whole concept is flawed and should therefore be ignored.

"Around three-quarters of oral cancers are thought to be caused by smoking and drinking alcohol.

"Tobacco is, by far, the main risk factor for oral cancer, so it's important that we keep encouraging people to give up and think about new ways to stop people taking it up in the first place.

"But for people in their 40s, it seems that other factors are also contributing to this jump in oral cancer rates.

"Alcohol consumption has doubled since the 1950s and the trend we are now seeing is likely to be linked to Britain's continually rising drinking levels."

Oral cancer can be treated successfully if diagnosed early enough.

The most common signs of the disease are ulcers, sores, or red or white patches in the mouth that last longer than three weeks, together with unexplained pain in the mouth or ear.

Alcohol Concern chief executive Don Shenker said: "Many people are not aware of the connection between alcohol and cancer, yet as this research shows, it can be a major contributor or cause of the disease.

"While alcoholic liver disease remains the number one killer linked to alcohol, more and more people are suffering from oral cancers - and record drinking levels have undeniably played a part."

He said it was time to introduce tobacco-style health warnings on alcohol.

"It's a consumer issue - people have a right to know the full range of health risks associated with drinking alcohol above recommended guidelines.

"This research will hopefully help people realise the full extent of the damage that alcohol can do, then they're better placed to make informed decisions about how much they drink."

Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians and chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said: "These latest figures demonstrate once again that people are being struck down at ever younger ages with alcohol-related illnesses that they might never have previously associated with heavy drinking.

"There is an urgent need to rethink how we communicate the risks of misuse. The first step is to challenge the widespread notion that the only chronic health damage is suffered by a minority older drinkers."

Translation: we thought tobacco was to blame. Then fewer people smoked but more got cancer, so, what entertainment can we blame next? Ah ha!

Alcohol consumption has doubled since the 1950s and is the most likely culprit alongside smoking, says Cancer Research UK.

I'd like to point out that the number of cars on the road has more than doubled since the 1950s. Can I suggest increased car numbers also should be investigated as a possible cause.

Also, it may be the case that the number of biros has also changed and might also be a cause of the increased frequency of oral cancers - or does the reference to the unexplained pain in the ear also mean that we are talking about and confusing oral cancers with aural cancers - in which case I would like to suggest that the reduction in the use of 78 rpm gramaphone records might be a cause that needs to be evaluated.

A survey for the Department of Health found almost one in five people in England admitted to exercising to "make up" for a heavy bout of drinking.

The poll also found that one in five people drinks more than double the NHS recommended amounts per day.

For a woman this is two small glasses of wine, and one more for a man.

Some people swear by "sweating out" a hangover and carrying out strenuous exercise to help the body overcome the effects of heavy drinking.

But the government's Know Your Limits campaign is trying to impress upon people that while exercising may make you feel better, it does not undo the damage caused by serious alcohol consumption.

While studies are increasingly showing that alcohol - even large quantities - may be good for the heart, organs such as the liver can suffer grave harm - with alcohol being blamed, for instance, for a large rise in cases of cirrhosis.

It has also been linked to a significant increase in the risk of having a stroke.

If you are in each of the 9 groups, you may consume 28 units per week per group. Obviously.

Oh and binge lager drinkers who want a fight afterwards should be limited to 28 units per week. Those who drink port to enjoy it and as a social event should continue to drink however a government health warning should exist for keeping apace with Derek!

KillerB wrote:What are the measurements on "open, insert bottle into mouth and invert"?

The government thinks that’s fine: you aim to drink a whole bottle, you drink a whole bottle. The authorities object to you thinking that you’ve had only a half when you’ve had a whole. HMG seems to approve of whole-bottle measures.

From 1 January, restrictions on the price of vodka in Russia come into force.

The cheapest bottle of vodka on sale will be 89 roubles (around £1.80; $3) for a half-litre bottle. While that still might sound cheap, the new law is all part of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's plan to tackle alcoholism in Russia.

Russians drink seriously. As a country they get through on average about 18 litres (32 pints) of pure alcohol a year.

Last year, when Mr Medvedev kick-started his campaign, he called Russia's alcohol problem a "national disgrace" and said he was determined to cut that figure by a quarter by 2012.

But combating the consumption of what most Russians consider to be their national drink is a brave political move considering the lack of success his predecessors have had.

The last time anyone tried it was 24 years ago, when Russia was part of the Soviet Union.

Then, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev drastically cut vodka production and did not allow it to be sold before 2pm.

Significantly, perfume was also not to be sold before midday as people were starting to drink that.

!

At the moment, bootleg vodka is available at around 40 roubles a half litre. So even though $3 for bottle of vodka may seem cheap to most people, it is double the price of the bootleg version.

Importantly for the government, the minimum-price law brings in a way of telling what is illegal and what is not, and attempts to claw back some tax revenue.

!

The problem for Mr Medvedev is that, historically, whenever Russia has tried to combat excessive drinking, illicit sales of alcohol have risen.

Experts estimate that bootleg vodka - often made after-hours in legal distilleries - makes up almost 50% of all vodka drunk by Russians.

Such liquor is unregulated and contributes heavily to the country's 35,000 deaths a year from alcohol poisoning.

The medical journal The Lancet earlier this year estimated that half of all deaths in Russia between 15 and 54 were alcohol-related.

There was a story circulating years ago that a Russian tank crew stationed in Czecho sold their tank for a crate of vodka. It was supposed to have happened in the 60's, I think. There is, in that tale, heroic and unconquerable simpicity.